


Watch The Fucking Glasses

by drawsol



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, How Do I Tag, Humanstuck, I'm Bad At Tagging, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Swearing, im not sure if the violence is super graphic but i'm tagging just in case
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-11-17 04:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11268387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drawsol/pseuds/drawsol
Summary: Life for you is odd, with your fucked up eyes, fucked up guardian, and fucked up brain, but you were used to it. You were just not expecting it to get even more fucked up, and that was exactly was was about to happen.





	1. First Day Fuckups

Beep.  
Beep.  
Beep.  
BEEP.  
BEEP.

You shift your arm around, trying desperately to untangle it from the trap like sheets of your bed, movements dull and slow. The frantic beeps and buzz of your phone is starting to get to you, and you think that it is probably time to stop hitting snooze, and just maybe, get your lazy ass out of bed. Grasping wildly at your bedside table, your fingers wrap around your phone, vibrations running up and down your arm as you bring the small mobile device closer to your face.  
Fuck.  
You, for the most part, cannot currently see. Somehow, in the fuzzy, sleep-static filled brain of yours, you have forgotten about one of the main reasons why your life sucks. The ever wonderful condition of ocular albinism, paired with a nice case of photophobia. To put it short - the sun is a burning shit orb and all types of light hurts your stupid, stupid, stupid, eyes. You slam your eyelids shut, groping blindly for the pair of prescription sunglasses at your bedside. You had fought tooth and nail to get glasses that helped with your condition, and you were very happy when you got them and they didn’t look stupid. To anyone other than you, they just looked like a plain pair of aviators. To you, they were a saving grace. Even though you would get teased for wearing them, they would never leave your face when in public. The fine lines of white in your hair were enough, nobody other than yourself should get to gaze into the colorless grey of your iris. 

Your fingers wrap nimbly around your frames, and you slide them on your face with a practiced grace. Scratch that. You poke yourself in the eye with the end of one, and then they get on to your face. Even with all the years of practice you’ve had, you still suck at being a living creature. Oh well, that is a concern for another day. Right now, your concern is getting ready for the day. Stumbling out of your bed, you approach your closet, grabbing the comfiest clothes you can find. Fuck dressing up, you are gonna wear what you like to wear and that’s final. After the momentary struggle into your personal favorite outfit, you feel ready to take on whatever life throws at you.

Meaning that life better not throw much at you, or you’re fucked. 

…..You’re probably fucked.

You slip downstairs, grab your already ready bag, thank god for your past self being smarter than your current self, and slip your, now charged, laptop into the front pouch. Grabbing one of the suckers you keep by the front door of your empty house, you slip your sneakers on just as you slip the morning pick me up candy into your mouth. You keep them by the front door because of your probably bad habit of skipping breakfast, but hey, it was something. With a quick move, you are out the door and on your merry way to the building of the happiest place on earth. Without the happy part. Ah yes, high school, the cesspool of all that the teenage years have to offer. Which is basically pocket lint and trash, but who’s counting?  
The walk there is short, and you are very glad that your guardian bought a place close to Alternia high. The cool, crisp air of an early fall swirls around you, but you are too caught up trying to figure out how to get through your last year of school in a place where you know nobody, and where nobody knows you. Ah yes, the classic cliché of ‘Weird kid in a new school’. All that you need now is an equally cliché jock kid to bump into you on the first day of school, signaling the start of a beautiful relationship.

Yeah, no. For the most part, you just wanted to get through this school year unnoticed, letting the days breeze by until summer, where you can troll in your room all day and not have to see the sunlight for two months. Then school starts up again, but you don't like to think about that. One day at a time.

Too bad life hates you, because the first thing that happens to you when you set foot on school ground is getting bumped into.

Violently.

Very, very violently, and to the ground. The person shoved into you falls beside your growling self, and you only vaguely notice the cracking noise through the blinding white haze.

“Good job, Captor.” Wow, they sound snobby.

“That’th your fault, Ampora!” Wow, they sound angry. And lispy. Probably both.

Too bad you can’t focus on that. 

The only thing you can focus on is the snapped frames, peeking out from under the fallen boy’s leg, and the familiar sensation of stinging.

Your name is (Y/N), you have severe photophobia, and now, your only method of surviving normally for the past few years of your life, is on the ground, shattered and broken.

“Both of you should figure out who caused that, cause i’m gonna break their stupid fucking nose.”


	2. Wwhoa, dude.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I can't fucking see without my glasses."

You regret the words out of your mouth just as soon as you say them. Even though the white haze that seems to dominate your life without your glasses, you can tell that these two dudes are a lot bigger, and a lot stronger than you are. I mean, being confident in your ability to beat someone up was something, but being stupid enough to try against someone you have no hope of beating? Yeah, you had at least a little bit of self preservation skill. 

“Fuck, sorry, I-I wasn’t thinking when I said that I can’t really fight you but I’m still pissed cause you just fucked up my day-” You stumbled over your words, brain working at a mile a minute to figure out what to do. You are on the ground, with your eyes clamped shut, with two probably angry males glaring at you. Honestly, you couldn’t tell with the whole ‘eyes closed’ thing. They didn’t know that you couldn’t see, and they didn’t know a single thing about your condition. For all you know, they just see a weird ass fucking person with their eyes closed looking panicked as hell. Taking a deep breath, you try to ground yourself, doing your best to form a coherent sentence. 

“Uh, can the dude who just bumped into me get off my glasses? The…. the shattered ones. I’m not a douchebag who wears sunglasses all the time for no reason, those are prescription. I- ah- really, really need them.” You stutter out, patting the ground around you. You hear a vague shuffling, followed by a very quiet and irritated “Fuck.”

“Your uh… glathes are broken. Like, really broken.” The guy that sounds closer to you speaks. Huh. He does have a lisp. Did the guy standing up just scoff? You can’t tell. “Are they really that important?” You bit your lip, sitting back onto your hanches from the position you were in. 

“I have extreme light sensitivity. Photophobia.” You sound out the words slowly, as if you were explaining the subject to children. “I can’t see without something dulling the light. Those glasses were dulling the light. I can’t fucking see without my glasses.” You can’t help but let the bitterness creep into your voice. Shaking your head, you attempt to rise to your feet, only to stumble directly into the standing dude.

“Fucking hell- Sorry.”

You shift your head up, opening your eyes just a bit to see if you can see anything. The dude- Ampora? - is a bit taller than you, with black hair and a purple streak, but other than a few fuzzy details you can’t see much. Shifting your eyes shut so you don’t hurt yourself further, you speak quietly, taking a step back and out of the personal space of the other person.

“Can one of you just give me directions to the office or something? I’m new here, I don’t know my way around, and I am currently blind. Just a tiny nudge in the right direction would be nice.” The world is darkness to you, only the noises of people chattering and various normal morning activities around you. God, this must look weird. Who are these dudes, anyway?

“I thould take you. I wath the one who broke your glathes, i thould be the one to fix them.” The lisp dude speaks, off to your side. You swivel your head in his direction, and prepare to take a step towards him when the other boy speaks up.

“I should, and wwould, gladly rather havve me escort them. You, Captor, are the one wwho broke their glasses in the first place.” What was that accent? Weird. But the wavy guy was right, and you really, really had to get moving.

“Uh, sorry, Captor something or other, but he is… kinda right? Sorry. I just- I really need to get to class.” You pat around blindly, and the Ampora shoves his arm into your reach. You, naturally, grab onto it, and he starts moving at a pace that you’re having trouble keeping up with. Welp, there goes your plans for a normal day. Let’s hope that the lisp dude doesn’t have any hard feelings over this. It’s not like you’re planning to speak to these guys often after this fiasco. Things don't always go according to plans, though.


	3. Seaborne

You stumble slightly on a raised corner, a noise of gentle concern leaking from your lips. Jesus, this guy had really long legs.

“Hey, could you maybe slow down a bit? I can’t see, and I really don’t feel like tripping and smashing my face into anything.” You wheeze, trying to gently ease the other to a pace that doesn’t feel like a jog. 

“Are we close to the office?” 

“You came in at the entrance farthest from the office. Wwe’re not far, but there is a few halls to go. Just be glad it’s me helping you, Captor is not a good person to make friends with on the first day.” He sounded bitter over something, a bit of resentment bubbling under his words. You were about to open your mouth to question why exactly he had such a problem with the lisp dude when a bubbly sounding voice rang out through the halls.

“Eridan! Stop harassing the new kid!” Well, if a voice could sound bright, this lady sure managed to do it. You could almost feel a stomach ache coming on just from the pure sickly sweetness of her words. Why did she think that this guy was annoying you, though? You didn’t want to make any brash assumptions, but maybe he wasn’t really a helpful person… eh. At this point, you just wanted to get to the fucking office. 

“M’ not harassing them, Fef. Sollux broke their glasses, they can’t see. I’m just escortin’ em to the office. They probably have a spare pair there that they can use.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. Normal sunglasses would work for they day, and even if they were annoying, they would get the job done.  
“Did Sollux really break their glasses, or are you just trying to blame something on him?”

“Sollux bumped into them, Fef. He fell, they fell, all hell broke loose. Now, please, I gotta get movin. Office. I’ll see you at lunch.” The same bitterness from earlier comes creeping up in his words, and you wonder if they were…. Romantically involved, somehow. To be completely honest, it was not your place to judge. Relationships were not really your thing. But you really couldn’t help the small bit of curiosity in your chest….

“What was that about?” You can’t help but question the encounter. Did she really think he was bothering you?

“That was Fef. She’s a… friend o’ mine. Don’t wworry about it, she’s just tryin’ to wwatch out for me.” There is is again. That tone. You decide to not push the issue.

After some bumps, and a few cross words from Eridan, your self appointed seeing eye dog, you arrive at the office. He nudges you in and helps you search the lost and found for a working pair of glasses, and you hear a noise of excited triumphant when he finds one. 

“I found some. Here, try the damn things on.” Frames are shoved into your hands unexpectedly, and you stumble slightly as you grip them. 

“Hey, thanks for doing this. You… really helped. Your name is Eridan, right?” The words flow from your mouth as you slip the shades on, bright light dulling to a level that makes life manageable. You can finally get a good look at your savior.

Oh, wow. He… wasn’t that bad looking, actually. His hair was gelled back, a simple streak of purple down the center. Brown eyes, straight nose, strong cheekbones - if there was a way to describe him, it would be ‘regal’. He looked like a prince. You swivel your head quickly, trying not to make it obvious you were staring at him. 

“Yes. My name is Eridan Ampora, and you are-?” He looked expectant, and it took a second to click in your brain that he was asking for your name.

“Oh! I’m (y/n). It’s nice to meet you, Eridan, but I really need to get to class and-” 

“I understand. I assume i’ll be seein’ you around the school, (y/n). Quick tip for you- avoid the boy in the 3-D glasses.” He gave a curt nod before leaving, and somehow the movement reminded you of a cape flourish. All you could do was stand there, bewildered. 

That was really fuckin’ weird.

Shrugging your shoulders, you glide out the door, head held high. Oh thank god for sunglasses, you can see shit now. It’s a motherfucking miracle. Time to get to your first class, which is-

_Shit. ___

__You pull your schedule and your map out of the bag on your hip, checking to see what you have. Computer Sciences, which is-_ _

__On the other side of the school._ _

_Double shit._


	4. Coding Class

Your breaths come strained as you reach the class, seconds before the bell rings. You sigh in relief, and the teacher gives you a pointed look. Too bad he can’t do anything, because you technically aren’t late. Thank god for the technicals in life, or else you’d be screwed. You gaze around the room, looking for an open seat, somewhere preferably tucked away out of view of the other students. Turns out, you aren’t the only kid with that idea.

You trudge to the back of the class, sliding into the seat beside the blonde kid. You don’t bother to look at him, and he doesn’t bother to look at you. It is painfully obvious that if you’re sitting in the back of the classroom, you do not feel like being disturbed. The teacher launches into a long winded ramble about the class outline, and you can’t help but get bored by the syllabus. Fuck, he’s gonna hand out a sheet with all this crap anyway, why would you ever want to listen? You let your wandering eyes shift to the side, to the screen of the kid beside you. He has the command console open, and he seems to be fucking with the settings on the computer.

“Hey.” You whisper, trying to gather his attention. “You forgot a parenthesis. That’s gonna fuck you up.” 

You can almost feel the wave of annoyance roll off him. The boy turns to you, face already in a scowl.

“Why are you looking at my thcreen-” The words fade out, but you’re responding already and without looking at him. 

“Shit, man. I was just trying to help.” The voice seems familiar, somehow, and you turn to look at the boy. Blond hair, sideburns - how the fuck did he have almost full sideburns, we are in highschool - and…. 3D glasses? He was decently attractive, but you were more focused with the shit on his face.

“Oh, hell. You’re the dude that- uh- Eridan warned me about.” Your lip twitches down slightly, signaling an almost frown. Eridan had gotten you help, and you weren’t about to turn down words of advice from someone who knew their way around here.

The boy still looks shell shocked, and when he registers your words a flash of anger and then… guilt, maybe, seem to flash across his face. He mumbles something to himself before turning away.

Wait a second… did he… _lisp?_

_Wait a goddamn second-_

“Are you the dude that broke my sunglasses?”

You can see it in the way his shoulders tense and his face goes blank that yes, this is most likely the dude that broke your sunglasses. He tries to avoid looking at you, but you can see the by the way that he moves, he is not very good at it.

“All fucking right, I am going to try and be reasonable with this… Captor, right? Why in the god’s fucking names did you bump into me? Were you just not paying attention or did something else happen? Look, i’m trying not to be a dick about this. Could you just say something-”

“Eridan pushed me.”

You stare, and he turns to you with a poker faced look. Maybe not pokerface, he did look a bit… irritated. 

“Purple prick puthed me as you walked by. I went down, you went down, thit went down. I’m thorry for breaking your glathes, not my fault though.” 

Oh, huh. I guess that makes sense- but why on earth were they fighting? You vocalize your thoughts to the lisp kid, and he just gives you a glare. 

“It’th not your busineth, glathes kid.” 

“Dude, what the fuck did I do to you-”

“Mr. Captor and company, quiet. Down.” That shuts you up, fast, and you turn back to your screen. The assignment is posted, and you get to work on it quickly and quietly. You don’t bother the kid beside you, and he doesn’t bother you. The coding part is easy, and you get it done fast enough to work on something else. Maybe you’ll start a personal project, you ponder, the sudden bell jolting you out of thought. You shutdown your computer and get up, only to bump right into the blonde kid. 

“Hoooly shit, sorry. I swear that I’m not usually like this.” 

He just looks down at you, his head tilted slightly to the side. Almost as if he’s scanning you or something. Apparently you pass whatever test he was giving you, because he nods before opening his mouth.

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, I’m thollux. Are you new here?”

“Uh, yeah. Just moved. Why?”

“Just wondering. Hey, uh, thorry for breaking your glathes. I know how much you need them thometimes. Do you want to thit with me and my friendth at lunch?”

You stall for a moment. What? Did he just- Is this his way of apologizing?

“Really? I mean-”

“Yeah, really. Find me when you get out of clathes. I know thomeone who would like to meet you.” He nods again before absconding, leaving you standing, yet again, bewildered.

You are pretty sure that you might be the protagonist of some shitty love story, and at some point you with have to choose between Sollux and Eridan.

You’re also probably getting ahead of yourself.


	5. Lunchroom Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet the gang.

The rest of the morning goes by surprisingly smoothly, other than the super fucking loud kid in your english class. Really, dude, try to keep your voice under 90 decibels before lunch. Other than that, it was pretty good. Barely anyone noticed you, and although you did get a few odd looks at the pair of sunglasses square on your face, the people looking simply went back to what they were doing. Hopefully that was the last of that. Last year was not great with the whole ‘this kid has fucked up eyes and is fun to mess with.’ You don’t like remembering it that much. It was not an awesome year for you.

Lunch rolls around fast, and the bell signaling free time has everyone rushing out. You almost forget about the table offer from Sollux, but it pops into your memory and you shrug. It really couldn’t hurt to try and sit there, and if you didn’t like it, you could just abscond and sit somewhere else.

Somewhere a lot more quiet.

 

The cafeteria is loud. Louder than it has any right being. Mumbles, yells, and the sound of conversation echos off the brick walls, and to be honest, you hate it. Loud noises were never really awesome with you, and this mostly just sucked. You shrug and keep your head down, looking for the spiky mop of blond hair you associate with the kid sitting beside you in computer class.

It doesn’t take long to find him, and you are surprised to find more than one slightly familiar face sitting at the table. Sollux is there, obviously, and to your surprise, there is an open seat beside him. Maybe he was saving it for you? Nah. Probably just a coincidence. You scan the rest of the table, eyes landing on some of the people you already encountered today. Fef was there, sitting beside Eridan, talking to a girl in a cat hat. She was opposite to Sollux, and the hacker you knew was sitting beside that shouty kid. You consider just finding somewhere else to sit, but Eridan glances up and he locks eyes with you.

He jerks his head in such an action that you can only determine the meaning to be ‘get yer ass over here’, and you walk uncertainly to the table, plopping down firmly beside Sollux. Eridan’s face falls, and Sollux is about to interrupt, but the shouty dude opens his mouth before both of them.

“Who the fuck are you, and why do you think you have the right to sit with us?”

Welp, there goes any sense of comfort you could have had sitting at this table. You visibly recoil while the rest of the people sitting at the table watch curiously, other than Fef, Eridan, and Sollux. Fef looks apologetic, and in almost slow motion, you can see the swivel of her head as she turns to look at Eridan questioningly. Eridan, on the other hand, is almost glaring at shouty, his mouth already halfway open, the starts of a scowl twitching at his lips.

Sollux speaks first.

 

“What the fuck, KK? I told you I was thaving thith theat for thomeone. Are you really that dense?” Sollux is… also frowning, but he also looks resigned to this. It’s probably not the first time.

“Hey everyone, meet-” His face blanks, and he looks, yet again, irritated.

 

“I didn’t get your name, did I?”

 

“Nope.”

 

He facepalms, looking at you expectantly.

 

“Their name is (y/n), Sol. Y’knoww, the kid wwho’s glasses you broke?” Eridan speaks how he walks. Kinda high and mighty. Maybe his parents are rich? He seems snobby, in a way.

 

"How do you know their name, fithdick?” Why does the hacker get that tone when he talks about Eridan? Is there something going on between them? There must be-

 

“Listen up, fuckers, you two idiots better explain what the fuck is going and why there is a Strider lookalike at our table before I kick both of your asses to fucking mars.”

You find that this is is probably the best time to speak up.

 

“Uh, hi? I’ll just say it fast- These two were fighting or something, Sollux bumped into me, he broke my sunglasses, Eridan took me to the office to get a shitty pair from the lost and found. No, i’m not explaining why I need them, that’s personal. Sollux invited me to sit with you during class. I can leave if you want-”

 _“No.”_   “No.”

Both Sollux and Eridan exchange heated glances, is one of them blushing, and then Fef girl speaks up.

 

“Oh, don’t! We don’t mind having you here! Are you new here? I haven’t seen you around town before!” Holy shit, she is bubbly.

 

“Uh, yeah. You’re Fef, right?” The girl looks at you with wide eyes before slapping her forehead.

 

“Oh, how glubbin’ silly of me! Everyone, introduce yourshellves!”

 

Huh. Fish puns. The group looks around, and the cat girl speaks up first.

 

“Hello! I’m Nepeta! It’s a purrleasure to meet you!”

 

You smile, and the tension in the air seems to melt. The group introduces themselves to you, and from what you know so far… they’re all quite an interesting group of people.

 

“You’ve already met me, but I’m Feferi! Feferi Pexies!”

 

“Vriska. Evil genius. Gr8 to see ya.”

 

“Terezi Pyrope. Woman of the law. You smell like honey and lavender. It’s nice.” Holy shit that is a creepy smile-

 

“Aradia.”

 

“Kanaya Maryam, seamstress. It is nice to make your acquaintance.”

 

You smile. She seems… motherly. It’s nice, and her words give you a warm feeling. You should talk to her after this.

 

“Karkat fucking Vantas.”

 

You turn to shouty, grimacing. He doesn’t seem to notice your discomfort with the noise. Sollux does, though.

 

“KK, turn it the fuck down.” Karkat scowls, but his voice does seem a bit quieter when he speaks again.

 

“If you hurt any of my friends, I will destroy you. Don’t fucking test me.” You nod, wide eyed, and he looks satisfied.

 

“Sorry ‘bout karbro. He just wants to keep us safe, yo. Name’s Gamzee. Welcome to the group.”

 

“H-Hi! I’m Tavros! Tavros Nitram!” You look to the voice. Small kid, wheelchair. Huh. Wonder why he needs it. You shake the thought out of your head. You don’t like when people talk about your thing, you won’t talk about his. It’s only fair.

 

“Equius Zahhak.” The hulk of a boy reaches across the table, offering you a handshake. You take the offer and regret it right after. How can a human be that fucking sweaty? It’s fall, for gods sake! You shake it anyway, offering a kind smile. He smiles back.

Where are his teeth.

 

“Thollux Captor, coding geniuth, cooletht kid thitting at thith table. But you already knew that.” He pulls down his glasses to wink at you, and you barely catch the heterochromia of his eyes. Your cheeks heat, but you cover it with a snort of laughter.

 

“Sure, dude.”

 

“Ahem.” You turn to look at Eridan, and he looks vaguely angry, with a hint of sadness. Or is is jealousy? You can’t tell.

“Eridan Ampora, swwim team captain and the most suavve of anyone here. It’s… nice to see ya again, (y/n).”

You nod.

 

[The Cafeteria is loud](http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001982). Voices swirl into one noise, interspersed with laughter and chairs scraping on the ground. It’s almost like a single note, one tune that all noises come to be when the word is said and the sentence ended.

You are not sure, but something feels right about this. As if you slot into this group like a missing piece of a puzzle. You want to know more, you want to know why for the first time in your life, you feel like you belong. The eye of the group is on you, and even though in any other situation, you would cringe away from the attention, you feel like you’ve been gently nudged into place. You are not sure if you are a corner piece, or if you complete the puzzle, but you are sure that the finished project will be colorful and a chaotic mess of red and yellow and purple and grey. It feels… nice.

You get the feeling it is going to be a long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader hasn't caught on yet, but the boys have. They are infected with feelings, flushed feelings, and they are F U C K E D.


	6. Grease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet someone new, and a chumhandle is given freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I spent way too much time formatting that stupid fucking pesterlog.

The mid afternoon air is chilly on your skin, and you’re kinda glad for it. The stuffy, suffocating heat of summer was always something that you didn’t enjoy, and you are quite glad for the gentle chill of fall. You gaze up at the changing colors of fall, but you also make very, very sure that you are paying attention.

For fucks sakes, you are not bumping into anyone. You are not doing that again. Today was enough of that bullshit, so right now spacial awareness is at a solid 100%. We’re giving her all she’s got, captain. 

Sadly, for the second time today, someone bumps into you. Luckily, it does not go as badly as the first time. They seem to murmur a quick ‘Fuck.’ before they turn to look at you. Correction- they turn to look at you, and then they have to look down. Fuck, he’s tall. Must be a senior. Otherwise known as someone you want to not interact with, considering that you are sophomore. That is almost a full two year gap, and this guy gives off a… weird vibe, to say the least. 

The guy is bigger than you, to say one thing. That’s to be expected with the whole age difference, but for him it’s just kinda unsettling. His hair is pushed backwards, like a greaser, and it almost looks shiny. If you reached out and brushed it, it would probably be hard to the touch. He kinda looks like Eridan, if Eridan was older and a fair bit sleazier. 

“Uh, sorry. I’ll just be on my way-”

He smiles down at you, and it just gives you chills.

“Hey, you’re Eridan’s little buddy, ain’tcha? I’m Cronus. Nice ta meetcha, kitten.” He slings an arm over your shoulder, and it amps your discomfort up by a fuckton. He notices the way you tense, but even then, he doesn’t back off. 

“Hey, don’t vworry. I don’t bite ‘less you ask me to.” There’s the grin again, and his teeth look sharper than they did last time. Luckily, he does back off, leaving you standing there. Fuck, now you feel greasy. He nods to you, tilting his head to the side and giving you a two finger salute.

“See ya ‘round, kitten.”

Yeah, hopefully not. You give him an uneasy smile before turning, continuing your walk home. You go at a slower pace than you had in the morning, and after a day like that, it’s really nice to just… cool down. This school is full of interesting characters, and it’s a bit overwhelming, to say the least.

You arrive at home, the house empty. As usual. Your guardian is out, and you know that they are a busy, busy person, but this is getting annoying.

Maybe you’re just lonely.

You shake the thought off, slipping your shoes off and striding to the kitchen. You grab a quick snack and abscond to your room, surprised to find your pesterchum beeping. Who in the goddamn-

 

\-- twinArmageddons [TA] began pestering ChumHandle [CH] at 15:13 --

[CH]: hey quick question  


[CH]: what the fuck  


[TA]: don’t worry, iit’2 just me  


[CH]: wow that really clears up a lot  


[CH]: nice to meet you, ‘just me’  


[TA]: you are a lot harsher onliine than iin real liife  


[TA]: iit’2 2ollux  


[CH]: in my defense you proBaBly should have opened with that  


[CH]: how did you even get my chumhandle, anyway?  


[TA]: hacker 2kiill2  


[TA]: told you ii wa2 the be2t one around  


[CH]:.....  


[CH]: i was on pesterchum during class  


[CH]: wasn’t i  


[TA]: hehehehe yep  


[TA]: just had to lean over and bam  


[TA]: can’t get riid of me now  


[CH]: alright cool  


[CH]: sorry for Being so hostile  


[CH]: i got stopped By some creepy dude on my way home  


[CH]: greasy motherfucker  


[CH]: gave me chills  


[CH]: put me into 'asshole defense' mode  


[CH]: sorry  


[TA]: ..wa2 hii2 name cronus?  


[CH]: not the first time, huh?  


[TA]: yeah  


[TA]: he’2 eriidan’2 older brother  


[TA]: and you’re not the only one who get2 chiill2 from hiim  


[TA]: 2tay away from the dude, alriight?  


[CH]: yeah  


[CH]: i will  


[TA]: anyway ii gave your chumhandle to everyone at the table  


[CH]: wait what  


[TA]: have fun!  


[TA]: hehehehe  


[CH]: you fucker-

\--  twinArmageddons [TA] ceased pestering ChumHandle [CH] at 15:27 --

Goddamn it- you were going to kick that kid’s ass when you get to school tomorrow.

Mentally, at least. You like to think you could hold your own in a fight, but you aren’t itching to find out. You are a computer nerd, for god’s sake, there is only so much you can do with a physical body. A digital one, however-

That, you are good at. You open your coding client of choice, starting to work on a little personal project of yours. Sollux gave out your handle to everyone, at this point, is it only fair you do him a favor in return. 

By favor, you mean something that is going to annoy the shit out of him.

This will be motherfuckin’ glorious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your typing quirk is making every B uppercase. Why? Because-  
> B)  
> Everyone needs a cool pair of shades. Even your text.


	7. Bad Things In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't stay out too late. You might see things you don't want to see. You might meet people you really don't want to meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are wrapped up, time for the plot to get moving. By moving, I mean we are kicking this fucker right into high gear. Have fun!

The months leading up to winter are smooth. You fit into the group nicely, and each person is more than meets the eye. To other people, it probably seems like most of these guys are insane, but to you, it’s an organized chaos, a welcoming chaos. You get to learn more about them, stuff like how Sollux love bees, and how Nepeta is actually a really good writer, and they get to know more about you. You’ve told them about the eye thing, and most of them aren’t surprised. A few did want to see, but that conversation went mostly like this.

“Hey, sunglasses, if your eyes are like that, are they a weird color or something?”

“Yep.”

“...Can I seeeee~?”

You flip Vriska the bird.  
She flips one back.  
It’s a mutual bird flipping experience. 

Other than that, shit goes pretty smoothly for you. Tavros and Gamzee get together, as a couple, you mean, which is surprising. Considering their personalities, you didn't think they would match as well as they do. Apparently, you weren't the only one who thought like that. There was a lot of questions about it, but you noticed that when they told you, Nepeta and Terezi seem to share a knowing glance when the pair announced it over their shitty school lunch hotdogs and limp fries. You ask them about it after, and they just stare blankly at you.

“Some things are meant to be.”

That creeps you the fuck out enough to not ask about it again. They just seem to know things sometimes, and it freaks you out. To be completely honest, this entire group of kids seem to slot together perfectly. You feel like an outsider sometimes, but mostly, it’s like you belong there too. 

Everything had been nice. Really nice.

Too nice. 

You knew that something was going to go wrong soon, and it was almost like you could feel it. Something shifty in the air. A glance held too long, or a tingle on the back of your neck, as if someone was watching you, even though you were home alone. You brushed it off as just being paranoid, but leave it to you to brush off every warning sign of danger. Leave it to you to be as stupid as you were.

It’s dark when it happens. God, you knew it wasn’t safe to be out that stupidly fucking late, but fuck, it was the only time you could really see. Not the through the stupid lenses of your glasses, making everything brown and orange and dull- and not the angry brightness of broad daylight. No, you loved the night because you could _see._

Fall is coming to a close, and the nights are getting chill. The type of chill you love. Summer wasn’t your time, winter was. The times when you could stroll the streets without melting, and you could spend your days inside judgment free. You watch as the condensation of your breath floats into the night, backlit by the perfect, warm glow of the streetlights. They were dull enough to look at without your sunglasses, and you fucking adored it. Nothing was too bright, and you wanted to run and yell and smile- you could fucking see!

Sadly, that was the last bit of joy you got out of the night. With your condition, you had much better night vision than most people. Light reflected off everything, and your eyes took that shit in like a stoner with strong lungs. Did stoners get strong lungs? Fuck if you know.

Something you did know, though, was not much reflected light like that other than something sharp and metallic. You didn’t even mean to be looking down the alleyway, but you heard a thump and you just had to know. Goddamn it, why were you like this? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

There was someone… on the ground. You think they might not be…. Living? The ground is dark and shiny and wet and you can feel your heart seizing because fuck, fuck, what is going on why were you out so late this is wrong this is very wrong this is so wrong and you can’t breath and you-

You can’t do this. You just lock eyes with this fucking- guy? And you feel nothing but the cold. It’s not as nice anymore. God, who kills people in a full suit- Shit. Fuck he sees you and you can see him and he’s stepping forward and he opens his mouth and all you can hear is a far off echo and ‘Droog’ and another one steps forward and is there four of them? Holy shit no no nononoo-

You do what you know you can do. 

You run. 

You think you have an advantage because hey darkness is your element but the one chasing you is a full grown adult and he’s fast, too fast, and you’re going down like a building scheduled for demolition and the demolitionist switched out whatever they normally use for a fucking atom bomb or something and it hurts. A full grown adult landing on a teenager fucking hurts and your head gets slammed into the ground and you want to scream but there's a hand over your mouth and he’s on top of you, and in any other situation this would make you flustered and blushy but right now, you are just scared. Fear has a cold grip on your heart and it’s squeezing hard and some asshole is washing your lungs in the arctic ocean and you can’t breath and everything feels like ice. Fuck, is he growling? You can't fucking tell, because everything is echoey and far off and you wonder if this is what dying feels like.

Everything is happening so fast and you can't think right because the weight is off your back faster than you thought it would be and you think maybe he’ll let you go and you can go home and sleep and forget this ever happened and you won’t have nightmares about it and you’ll be fine and no, it won’t, because there's a hand wrapping into the fabric of your top and he’s dragging you like you’re made of paper and he’s moving back to the alley, the fucking alley and you hear talking and you don’t realize you’re in your own body until you feel something warm falling into your eye and turning all that you see on that side red. Everything is red and your head really, really hurts.

“Spades, i’ve got the kid.” 

It’s far. Far off. You feel hazy, light and it’s like you stood too fast and all the blood is in your brain again and dizziness is all you know. You think the other one, Spades, says something about dealing with you but all you can hear is the response of the man holding you. 

“Spades, they ain’t on the list, 'n' killin’ a kid would make the news. This needs to be quiet.”

Murder. They killed that… lump on the ground. They killed a person. Well you think it was a person but now it’s just flesh and everything they were, everything they are and everything that they could do is gone. They’re gone. They’re so gone and everything that they could be is stardust, dead forever and they will never be anything else but dead. That could be you. That might be you.

“Just deal with the fucker, Droog.” 

The words come and he, the one holding you, lifts, and now you’re face to face with this guy and you can feel ice in your brain and everything is still fucking red and you hate it, you hate the fact that you’re so weak, you hate that your eyes make this the only time you can see and you hate that this happened to you because of that. You not being fucking normal is going to get you killed and you can’t even bother to cry because you don’t feel anything. All you feel is the wind, and the cold, and warm breath on your face from the person who might be about to kill you. You match eyes with him, and his are green and kinda nice, and he just looks down at you like you're trash to be taken out and you-

You guess that might as well be what you are, and you really, really hope that they treat you like trash and just leave you on the ground instead of taking you out like any normal person would do. You hope these aren't normal people.

“Hey, kid. You shouldn’t be out this late.” 

You want to tell him. You want to tell him that you’re an anomaly, that you shouldn’t be here, that this is wrong and that you're wrong in every way but you can’t open your mouth and all you do is nod.

“You know, you should keep your mouth shut. Don’t think anyone would really believe you, right? Bunch of guys... doin' things. Maybe you should forget that this happened.”

Nod. Nod and it will be ok. Nod and they won’t kill you. Nod and maybe, just maybe, they'll make it quick.

“Try not to take this personally, kid. It's just business.”

You try to open your mouth to ask about taking what personally but you can’t, and you’re on the ground before you can blink and your head hits the brick wall on the way down and you’re jarred to the high fucking heavens. He looks like he wants to do more to you but someone speaks and he scowls before crouching down slow and grabbing your chin, tightly and roughly, and it would probably hurt more if you could register any pain other than the one in the back of your head. His fingers are calloused and rough and you wonder if he works with wood or metal but then he seems to say something about keeping your mouth shut and you just nod. You nod and he looks pleased and he stands and turns around and walks off.

He’s gone. They’re all gone. The body is gone, the men are gone, and you are in an alleyway at midnight or one am or something with a puddle of blood beside you, and a steadily growing one underneath you and everything is still fucking red. All you can think about is how you’re not dead yet, but you will be soon, and everything around you is floating and you think that the darkness is actually quite appealing. 

You think you hear a car pull up, but you don’t know, and there is the chatter of voices that might be the angels or devils coming for you. They sound familiar, but not exact, like copies of the people you know but they sound fuzzy and everything sounds fuzzy and yes, you are probably dying.

“Cronus, why did you stop?” Words echoes in agreement, with the first voice, and you hear someone say something back but you don't catch what they're saying to the others.

Car door. You hear a car door. Why is someone opening their car door? Why is someone driving around at midnight? Or whatever time it is, you don’t know, but they probably shouldn’t be outside. You shouldn't be outside. You wouldn't be outside if you could move right now, but you can't, so you are. Outside, I mean.

There’s faint words. It sounds like someone swearing, followed by a statement. There’s more swearing, and a few gasps from what sounds like a group of people. Car headlights shine bright, too bright, and it’s bright again and you can’t fucking see and you feel yourself whimper but you don’t hear the whine. 

“Cronus?”

That voice is farther away. Is that Karkat? Why isn’t he yelling? Why does Cronus seem like a familiar name to you? Sadly, your ability to think straight is fading fast, so you can't think of any reasonable answer to those questions. Suddenly you’re being lifted, and fucking ouch, that hurts, and the swears get louder and the one holding you is moving faster and turning and spinning around and you just want them to stop moving because every time they move you feel your brain smack around like a pinball and goddamn it, you just want to _sleep._

“Kankri, you need to take the fucking vwheel and drive us right to your house. Call Eridan. Call Sollux- fuck, call any of our younger siblings because look-” and you feel yourself move and right now, you like the darkness more than the light. You probably shouldn’t be sleeping, but the light is so… _bright_ and the darkness is so nice and welcoming compared to the other and you take the hand of the dance partner you can actually stand to look at, and the pair of you waltz right into unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than the others, and it's also probably mostly nonsense, but this is from POV of the reader and the reader is having a mental breakdown. Save this poor soul.


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A not so fun dream.

You’re pretty sure that you are going to do a fucking acrobatic flip off the handle. High level acrobatic flip, with twists and turns and spins, something that could get you a ten out of ten score in the olympics. Why are you planning to flip your shit? 

Well, i'm about to tell you...

You have no _fucking_ idea where you are. This isn’t some ‘I woke up in an alleyway with no memory’ bullshit, you currently have no actual fucking clue of where you are. You don't even think this is on planet earth. Purple stretches as far as the eye can see, and spires twirl up into the darkness. You aren’t sure if the darkness is the sky or not, but it seems never ending other than some planets, planets?, dotted around a central point. You don’t really want to concern yourself with that, though. You, first off, want to figure out where you are, and second off, want to figure out how to get the fuck out of here. 

The first step you take goes fine, and you kinda assume that maybe you remember how to walk. 

Apparently not. 

You take another step and get sent tumbling to the ground, landing on the cold, purple stones hard, splayed awkwardly, with limbs everywhere.You get your hands under you and try to push yourself back up only to get hit with another wave of vertigo that sends you down again. You catch a glimpse of your own palms as you fall and suddenly feel like vomiting because they’re what you can only describe as... Fragmented? You don’t know how to explain it but it you look like a video game glitch and it’s making you sick because in some parts of your own body, cubes of yourself are floating somewhere and you can see your own tendons because chunks of your hands are just _missing_. You feel sick. Really sick, and there's bile in your throat and it’s decided to make it’s way out of your lips but _what the fuck_ , whatever is coming out is just numbers and code and for the hundredth time today you can’t breath. It’s not that your lungs don’t work, they just… you can’t get past the fact that right now you can feel your own body getting torn apart and your hands are covered in this fucked up numbery slime, and you’ve never seen this kind of code before, and you really, really never want to see it again.

“What in gog’s name?” 

You turn sharply and you see- something? It looks like Eridan, if Eridan was grey and fucked up and much, much bigger than you remember. You regret turning so sharply though because your brain is fucking up again and you can feel a blinding light stabbing and poking around in your head and you pass right the fuck out, again. The darkness is back and you can hear the voices of your friends but all you can think about is what was _that_? The dark place of purple and spires and an alternate universe version of Eridan. You have no fucking idea, but you never want to see it again.

You hear voices. You think it might be your friends, but you don't know, and you only hope that when you open your eyes they won't be gray.

“They were yelling about something-”

The voices fade in and out, laced with panic and the occasional anger. You try to hold onto your awareness, but you just can’t, and you settle for the snippets of conversation around you.

“Wwe need to take them to the hospital-”

“Vwe can’t afford that-”

“Fever-”

Blah blah blah, are they talking about you? You finally feel, well, awake enough to open your eyes and you regret doing that right after.

“Fucking hell…” You groan, and all conversation stops. Then starts again, loud and directed at you and holy shit, you want them to shut up. 

“Wwhy wwere you out that late, for gods sake! Wwhat the hell-”

“You dumbath, you almostht died!”

“Ugh…." You groan, and they quiet down. "Alright, points taken, but please, shut the fuck up.” 

They do as you ask, for a little bit, before someone who sounds suspiciously like Karkat speaks up.

“I do not mean to trigger you with reminding you of past events, but why… why did we find you in the state that we did?” 

Ok, alright, let’s see if you can remember what happened in somewhat coherent terms… 

Oh. Oh yeah. Should you tell them? You don’t think it would be a good idea. Could they tell if you lied about it? You weigh your options, and in the end, you go with what you think would be the best idea. 

“I... don’t remember. I’m sorry.” 

You hear someone sigh, and fabric shuffles around you. You’re pulled up into a sitting position surprisingly gently, and you only now notice the bandages wrapped around your head and your chest. You cough, and pain rattles through your torso, making you cough more. It’s a cycle of fuckups, and you are extremely grateful when someone presses the rim of a glass to your lips.

“Thanks.” You croak out, gulping down the water. Ah yes, the nectar of life, stopping you from choking on your own fucking lungs. 

After a few more sips, the coughing fit dies down, and you feel well enough to speak up.

“So, uh, after I… passed out… what happened?” 

You think someone opens their mouth to respond, but they are interrupted by a very, very deep voice. 

“Can someone explain to me why there’s six children in my house, one of which is on my couch wrapped in bloody bandages?”

Well, this is going to be really, really fun to explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this fic was only supposed to update on wednesdays and sundays.   
> I lied to myself.


	9. Vantas Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently you are the only one of the group who didn't come in a set of three.
> 
> Huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pesterlog has Doc scratch speaking. You're gonna have to highlight that shit, bud.

Today, you met Mr.Vantas, Karkat's dad, and Kankri, Karkat's older brother. 

Today, you also found out that a human lung can store enough air for a 15 minute lecture on why someone of your age and disability should not be outside as late as it was.

Today, you realized you got very, very lucky with only having Karkat as your friend. 

You shuffle awkwardly on Mr.Vantas couch, the old pseudo leather leaving you feeling sweaty and all around gross. Compared to the other things that made you feel gross tonight, you guess it isn't really that bad, but you still never really liked this type of sofa. After you had been woken up, taken care of, and yelled at, that was when the questions started. At first they were angry, questioning why you were even out that late and how exactly you had ended up bloodied and on the ground, a few simple explanations, and maybe a bit of white lies, got you out of the frying pan and into the 'I feel really bad for this kid' pot. 

"I still cannot believe that anyone wwould do that to you. I mean, you are quite literally one of the least threatenin' people I have _ever_ met." Gasping, you playfully punch Eridan, being careful not to overexert any of your injuries.

"Hey, I am the most threatening person currently sitting here, Mr. 'I wore a fuckin' cape to the fall formal.'." 

Eridan feigns offense at your words, and Karkat interrupts your drama battle with a loud sigh and a whisper that somehow sounds like a yell. You still have no idea how he does that, but at this point, you have accepted that Karkat can and will yell, and even if it is a whisper, you know he would be yelling if he could.

"Stop running your goddamn mouths like they're fucking olympic sprinters and shut the _fuck_ up." The angry boy hisses at you, and you stick your tongue out at him and lay back down. Mr. Vantas had been kind enough to let you stay over, and even though you had protested taking up his time, he had insisted that you stay over for the night, 'at least.' He had contacted your guardian, who did not pick up the phone, surprise surprise, and after he listened to the ringer for twenty minutes, he had just put the phone down, looked you in the eyes, and told you that you were staying over. 

Currently, you were laying on the couch of Karkat Vantas, with Sollux Captor, Eridan Ampora, and Karkat Vantas, obviously, scattered around the room on various pieces of furniture. Karkat was on his phone, watching some sort of romcom on netflix, Sol was on his laptop, fucking around with code, and Eridan was doing god knows what. You can't tell, cause he isn't facing you. You had bothered Sollux for a bit, and helped him with a few missed pieces of code before he had shooed you off to go do something else. You had stolen his glasses and were now wearing them, just to spite your friend, the bee fucker. After a bit of people watching, you pulled out your phone, Sollux's glasses and the lowered brightness of your screen making your shitty grey eyes capable of viewing your phone screen.

Someone was pestering you, which was not unexpected, but what was unexpected was the sheer weirdness of the messages you had gotten.

Hello.  
You're an anomaly, do you know that?  
I don't think you do. I've been going through the logs of the former universe, and you are nowhere in them.  
For all explicit cases, you shouldn't be here.  
But you are. And you, anomaly, are causing trouble.  
You were not supposed to be out tonight. I assume by this point, you have read my messages, and are able to answer?  
[CH]: ....what the fuck?  
Ah, yes. There you are.  
I am just here to deliver words of advice, and nothing more.  
Do not look into what happened tonight.  
Do not go looking for the men in the hats.  
Do not go looking for an answer.  
If you want to survive to the end you are supposed to die at, you will listen to what I say.  
I recommend you heed my warnings.  
This is bigger than you are.  
[CH]: what?  
Your hacker friend cannot track this conversation.  
Don't even ask him to try.  
Just take my advice, glitch.  
Stay out of it.

The messages end there, and you are confused, a bit scared, but mostly just...

Fucking. Pissed.

Who the hell does this dude think you are? Calling you a mistake, a glitch, what type of entitled dickhead does he think he can tell you what to do? You may have almost died tonight, but you know that he doesn't know the extent you will go to to get answers. You will go to the end of the earth, find the god of answers, fight him, and rip what you want to know from his dying corpse. 

"Hey, Sollux?"

"Yeah?"

"If I were to say, go looking for the people who did this to me, would you try and stop me?"

"....Would I be able to thtop you?"

"Nope."

You can hear the sigh from the taller boy, and the light of his computer screen goes out as he speaks.

"Gueth i'll be joining you, then."

Eridan speaks up, followed by the angry person who's house you currently occupy.

"I'm joinin."

"You idiots have got to be fucking kidding me-"

Even in the low light of the room, he can see your puppydog eyes.

"...Fucking _fine._ "

You smile, and even in the dark, you can see how his lips twitches in the way that tells you he's trying not to betray that he's ok with this.

"I hate you."

"Nah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey if y'all ever wanna come yell at me on tumblr my url is www.drawsol.tumblr.com and if you ask nicely i'll give u some plot spoilers.  
> also i have a final tomorrow and im doing this instead of studying  
> yall are lucky i love you


	10. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships are hard.

After the semi-forced sleepover at Karkat's, his dad had forced you to get a ride with him back to your house. Predictably, all of your jackass friends had decided to tag along with you, causing the otherwise calming ride home to become a shitshow of jokes and Karkat trying to reach over Eridan to smack Sollux upside the head.

You are very happy you called shotgun. You get to watch from the front seat as Sollux all but crawls up the side of the door to avoid getting smacked, his oddly sharp canine teeth poking over his lip in amusement and joy as he lets out the most cackle like laugh you have ever heard a human being produce. Karkat is almost foaming at the mouth, and Eridan has his hands in the air, exasperation written all over his face. He meets eyes with you, gives you the most pleading look he can muster, but you just smile. You just smile and wave as Sollux and Karkat scuffle like toddlers and Eridan tries not to get smacked in the face.

You like to think that you got lucky. Scratch that, you did get lucky. You can't even imagine how you would've gotten through this year without this stupid group of dorks you've grown to love. You try to think about what would have happened if you had stayed in the shadows, hadn't bumped into Sollux or Eridan, and you come to the conclusion that if you hadn't, you might be dead right now. 

Huh.

You watch the three assholes in the back for a while, just until dad Vantas pulls up to your house. There isn't a car, or anything, to be honest, in the driveway. He looks.... concerned? In a way, he probably is. You're not sure if what your guardian is doing classifies as neglect, but you don't give a shit, and there is no way in hell you want to go into the foster care system. You've heard stories, and you don't want to find out first hand. Sollux and Eridan help you out of the van, and they both have to crouch to stay level enough to support you. You laugh as they trip over their own feet trying to walk, and Sollux just straight up deadpan threatens to push you over.

He doesn't actually do it, but it's the thought that counts. 

The pair drops you off at the door, and you give them a mock salute as you hand one of them the keys to open your own door.

"Thanks, major lispy and private drama queen."

"Alright, just becauthe you're injured doeth not mean I am againtht thuplexing you." Sollux's arm is still tucked firmly under your own, and you let out a solid bark of laughter, the hacker sighing as you do so. 

"I'd like to see you try, jackass. You couldn't if you tried." You close your eyes, lifting you shades and wiping a mock tear from your eye. Apparently the fucker takes this as a challenge, because suddenly you aren't standing anymore, and somebody's lanky arms are wrapped firmly around you. You're trying not to laugh, but the lack of sleep paired with all the over the counter med shit has you as close to high as you can get.

"Put me down, you jackass!" You laugh, and he doesn't, and he just fucking waltzes into your house like he owns it. The asshole actually has the audacity to ask where your room is, and when you just laugh instead of answering him, he just fucking vaults up the stairs and kicks in the door for the first room he can see.

Luckily, the first room _is_ your room, so there isn't any massive breach of privacy, but you're laughing so hard you can't breath and in between wheeze and gasp you manage to tell him that _yes, you fucking win, put me down_ and Sollux just heaves you onto the bed, following soon after and laying on top of you. You can't stop laughing, and at this point it hurts, but it is so worth it to jut see the wildest grin on his face and he just looks so happy that you can't scold him for being so bold. Just out of the corner of your eye, you see Eridan standing in your doorway, with his arms crossed across his chest, and he looks like a kicked puppy so you just can't help yourself from beckoning him over to you. 

His eyes widen ever so slightly, and from here the blue of them almost looks purple, so you really, really can't help yourself when you call him a jackass and all but force him into the pile on your mattress. You are honest to god having one of the best times of your life, just being an idiot with these two idiots, and it is a bold and stark contrast to last night. It's really nice, to be honest. All of you are just chilling on your bed, in a big pile of limbs and shit, and it's nice. Sollux and Eridan aren't fighting, for once, and even with bruises wrapped around your ribcage like a fucked up rosevine you feel more comfy then you've been in a while. 

You wish it could be like this forever. Just the three of you. Together. You haven't even realized, but over these months, these two assholes have gained a special place in your heart. Laying here, you have time to think about them. All the dumb shit you've done together. You remember during drama class, you and Eridan being the biggest dorks possible. Fuck, you even got a cape. That was awesome.

And with Sollux, all the dumb coding wars and stupid virus- you still have that bee, buzzing around your screen, and you think you never want to get rid of it.

You also think you might love these two.

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all I love all of you but a gentle reminder  
> if you comment i will personally give you my soul  
> my soul and a good chance that maybe something you request will make it's way into the story  
> (i'm desperate)


	11. Back 2 School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cause this is filler, filler night-

Going back to school was.... an experience, to say the least. You had neglected to tell the rest of your friends what had happened on friday night, and showing up to school with hella bruises on you was bound to raise some questions. Correction- A lot of questions. All things considering, you probably should have told your other friends what had happened. Oh well, too late for that now.

You walk into the school and are immediately surrounded by your friends, and you knew this was going to happen. Just because you knew didn't mean it wasn't annoying though, due to the fact that more than one person had their hands on your banged up arms and were poking at the purple-yellow bruises. 

"Hey, I'm the only one allowed to beat my friends up!"

"Uh, are you ok? That looks... really bad."

"Yo, who up and hurt ya, little-"

Karkat cut them off with a sigh, grabbing your hand and shooting everyone else a glare. 

"Holy shit, questions for later, dickheads." He scowls, pulling you out of the group and towards your next class. "See you fuckers at lunch!" You shrug helplessly at the group as you get led away, and everyone but Sollux and Eridan look either concerned or angry. You really hope they don't go and try to find the assholes who did this to you. It's your job to put yourself into danger, not theirs. You end up getting drug through the hallways by your wrist to your next class, Karkat shooting the most hateful of glares to anyone who happens to get in your way. You know he probably doesn't really hate these random people, but he has a never ending source of anger and sometimes it terrifies you. You wonder if something bad happened to him in a past life. 

You really hope not. 

Despite it all, he is probably one of the best friends you have ever had. You know that he cares about people more than he lets in on. You know that he's a good person. All these thoughts run through your head as you walk, and you almost bump into him when he stops abruptly. You can hear him snort in laughter, but he muffles it quickly and moves to hide around a corner. You make strangled noise of concern, and you can see his gaze flicker to you as you do. 

"Karkat, what the fuc-"

"Shut it! It is way too early in the morning to be interacting with my brother, and if he sees me with you, there is a 100% chance he will stop to ask how you're doing. Do you really want to spend half your day getting trigger warned?"

"You made up a term for it?"

"Shut up."

"That is so fucking _adorable_ -"

" _Shut up_ -"

"Ohhh my god-" He shoves a hand over your mouth, which in any other situation might be odd, but the fact that he stands a good amount shorter than you and that he did that to stop you from calling him adorable just makes you laugh. What a fuckin' nerd. You're just happy it's Kar and not Sollux or Eridan. You have no idea how you'd react with them. 

Alright. Let's stop thinking about that. It is wayyy too early in the morning for that particular train of thought.

Karkat apparently decided that it was ok to get going now, and you're happy he did when he did, or you would have ending up being late. You get to class just in the nick of time, and the teacher just gives the two of you a dirty look before telling you to get to your seats.

You both slide into your seats, and while the teacher turns his attention back to the whiteboard, you lean over and mutter into Karkat's ear. 

"Dickass."

"Cocksucker."

Yeah, you like this guy. Not like you like Sollux or Eridan, but... yeah. 

"You know you love me."

He punches you in the side and you just laugh. And then get yelled at. Worth it.

 

Lunch is a shitshow. A hour long shitshow. 

All of the friends who didn't know about what happened are highly concerned, and a few of them are pissed that you didn't tell them. They also want to go find the dudes who fucked your shit up, and you really don't want them to go looking for these fuckers. Something about the situation feels off, and you don't want to get more people involved then there needs to be.

"You really went to Karkat and Sollux before any of us? Those two are probably the worst people to go to. Good choices, right?" Terezi is hounding you, long arms draped over your shoulders as you try to shake her off. She's one of the most lean people in your group, and at this point, you have accepted the bony arms are going to stay in your face and are just trying to eat your fucking lunch.

"Hey, if my half unconscious self had any choice, I probably still would have gone to Karkat. Or Kanaya. Or Tav. Honestly, I trust most of my friends other than Vriska and you. You two probably would have just drawn dicks on my face." 

She whines, although she still has a smile on her face, and draws back as if she was wounded by your words. You can only laugh as she pretends to be offended, and you keep trying not to choke on the food in your mouth.

"I am morally _offended._ You know I am way more cultured than that-" 

"Suck my ass, Pyrope."

You are all so amazingly elegant. Nobody in this school is more fancy than the group of you. 

Nobody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lackluster chapters lately. My energy level has been crappy lately. Sorry, y'all.


	12. Investigation

You're only just walking out of the school when Eridan grabs your arm and pulls you out of the flow of students and towards him, nimble fingers wrapped around your bicep as he tugs on you. 

You can say with certainty that you are a god at controlling your emotions, because you almost flipped your fucking shit at him. Your shitty fucking brain just seemed to flash back to _that night_ and you can almost feel yourself floating out of your body. Your arm feels really, really weird, and you are just trying your best not to fall over with the sudden wave of vertigo that hits you.

"WWhat the fuC-" Eridan's voice snaps you back to reality, and you pull your arm from his grip a bit harder than you probably had to. You bare your teeth at him, and for a moment, they feel a lot sharper than they should be. Then they're back to normal, and you feel like something in you is a miswritten line of code. You brush it off as... eh.... minor trauma, cause right now you really don't want to think about that.

"You knoww, that wwould be a lot more threatenin' if you wweren't tiny and adorable." He still looks slightly shell shocked, and you have no idea why, but the line is just so him you can't help but snort. Straightening out, you look backwards into the flow of students, and then back to him.

"Uh, did you need me or something?" 

"Yep. Sol is wwaitin' for us by my brothers car. I've got an idea, and it is a good one." He smiles his smile that has always looked ever so slightly menacing to you, and you smile back.

"If it's your idea, it probably isn't a good one-"

"Oh, shut up."

He grabs you again, albit a bit more gently this time, and starts pulling you in the direction of the senior parking lot. You mumble something about not needing to be led around like a toddler, but you don't try to pull away. To be completely honest, the pressure is kinda nice. Grounding, you guess. In any case, it's something.

You trip on the curb, and you can feel the lanky arms of your purple haired friend wrap around you and stop you from face planting into the ground. 

"I remember you saying somethin' about bein' more coordinated than the first day wwhere you bumped into everythin' in this school. Right now i'm thinkin' that you're a liar."

"Shut up, fishbreath."

He just laughs and drags you up. You can feel someone looking at you, and you turn to meet eyes with Sollux and- oh yeah. Eridan's older brother is.... that guy.

"Heya, kitten."

You turn to Cronus, look him directly in the eye, and flip the double bird at him.

You hear Sollux bust out laughing.

Nice.

The four of you pile into Cronus's truck, you and Sol in the back with Eri and Cronus in the front. You and Sollux listen intently while Eridan explains the plan, and Cronus just kinda... drives. You don't really like his car, it smells like cigarette smoke and grease. 

Ew.

"Alright, so my father is the CEO of the security company that most shops and places in our towwn employ, so my plan is that using your combined skills to hack into his computer and look through all the logs of the night wwhere you got attacked. From there, we can either go to the police or-"

The older Ampora interrupts Eridan, unlit cig hanging from his mouth. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks a mix of concerned and condesending. "Hey, kiddo, I don't know if this plan involves dad finding out and kicking the three of your collective asses, but that's what's gonna happen when he finds out."

"If-"

"Holy shit, dude. Do you have a death wish?"

This is when Sollux speaks up.

"Hey, you're underethtimating my thkill. He won't find out." He cracks his fingers in an effort to look cool, but you just think he looks like a dork.

"Let'th do thith."

"We're screwed."

"Yep."


	13. G-G-Glitching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You aren't supposed to be here.

Eridan's house is big.

Really, really, really big.

You had always known he was well off, it was just in the way he acted. You actually sometimes had to tell him off for acting like a pompous rich prick, but hell, nobody was perfect. He was trying his best.

"You live here?" The awe in your voice is surprising even to you. Did he have more siblings or something, or did the three members of his family just live in the biggest fucking house you've ever seen _for fun?_

"Yeah?" Eridan sounds confused at your awe, and he shoots you a questioning glance. 

You chirp, almost offended. Why does anyone need that much living space?

"It's huge! Why do you need such a big fucking house? That's insane!"

You can see that the same thoughts are also running through Sollux's head. He's just gazing through the window of Cronus's truck, mouth hanging ever so slightly open. He looks shocked. As shocked as you've seen Sollux get before. You can see his hand shift out of his pocket, phone coming with it as he opens the camera app and starts snapping photos of the rich neighborhood that your friend lived in.

"I told ya that my dad is the CEO. He's got enough money to wwipe his ass wwith it. It's stupid, I knoww, but he's got the cash so wwe get a lot of shit." He said it so offhandedly that you almost feel shocked. This guy probably saw more money every day than you'd ever have in your life, and he acts like this? God. You guess it was the way he was raised but- 

God.

You shake your head just Cronus's truck pulls into the driveway, and the four of you pile out. Sollux is still gazing around the neighborhood, but you, you know what you're here for and you are going to get it. You are here for answers. You want to know what in the jesus fuck is going on, and you are going to find out what in the jesus fuck is going on. Grabbing Sol's arm, you drag him towards the front door, already unlocked by your hipster friend's older brother. The three of you shuffle into the house, and you can hear Cronus banging around in one of the other rooms as the three of you peel your shoes off. 

"You knowv the rules, Eri! You get caught, don't pin nothing on me. Don't be stupid. Don't get caught. Good luck, chief. "

Huh. The stutter must be a family thing. The older Ampora strides off, and you shoot a look at Eridan. He shrugs helplessly before leading you and Sollux to one of the other rooms in his house. Even in here, the two of you are still in minor shock. There is so much needlessly expensive shit, and you almost want to take something just to see if they would notice.

You're not going to, but the urge... was there. 

You frown.

"My dad's office is just up ahead. Wwe knoww wwhere you got attacked, and around wwhat time, wwe only need to find out if any of the stores nearby had any footage of wwhere you wwere wwhen it happened." His eyes flickered around, almost panicky, before he lowers his voice. "We gotta be fast. Dad doesn't like people messin' wwith his stuff."

"Most people don't like people messing with their stuff." You hiss, voice also dropped to a whisper. Why? You don't know. He started whispering so you though maybe you should do the same.

Only after doing so you realized it was kinda dumb to do that.

Oh well.

Sollux looks at the two of you as if you were insane, and the almost offended look on his face would've made you laugh if it wasn't for the odd sense of... something, that washed over you. It was like vertigo, but it didn't send you stumbling. Something just felt... wrong. 

"Hey, uh, Eri? Do you have a bathroom? Close?"

"This house has seven of 'em. Nearest one is dowwn that hall and to the left. You knoww wwhere wwe are." He jerks his head towards one of the many hallways branching off from where you were standing, and you take off for the bathroom briskly. You trip on air while walking, and almost stumble into the wall, only catching yourself milliseconds before you headbutt the drywall.

"What the f-fuck?"

Almost to the bathroom. Everything is suddenly topsy turvy, and yet you don't feel sick. You just feel odd. Anxiety is growing in the pit of your stomach, and it is clawing it's way up your esophagus as you walk, every step threatening to send you to the floor.

When you flick on the lights to the bathroom you almost yell. There is a chunk of your side missing. Fucking. _Missing._ A perfectly square area of your torso is just gone.

And you can't feel it. That entire part of your body is just numb. A cross section of your side is just gone, and you can see your guts and they're still. Fucking. Working.

You stare.

You stare and then stumble to the toilet and vomit. 

"Chief?" 

Your gaze snaps to the doorway, glasses flinging off and to the side as you do so. You resist the urge to pick them up, wide eyes with blown pupils looking up at Cronus. You're helpless, curled around the toilet with a hole in your side and sheer fear flowing through your veins. 

Cronus takes one look at you and yells at the top of his lungs for Eridan, but by the time he's at your side, your vision is already fading and you feel like death. 

You then proceed to pass the fuck out.

You dream of Derse.


	14. 404

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This time, you stick around just a bit longer than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the lack of updates ive been dying lately

You have no idea how you knew that the name of this place was derse, but for some reason, you just did.

When your eyes had snapped open, you realized 3 things before anything else. Number one, your shades were missing, number two, your eyes didn't hurt, and number three-  
You were floating. You were floating a solid six feet off the ground, face to the sky, while vaguely familiar voices argued off to your left. You can't tell exactly who they are, mostly due to the fact that you are still reeling from whatever the fuck happened in that bathroom, but you can tell that you've heard them somewhere before. You've heard them... often. In any case, you were more enamored by the fact that your mind had put a name to this place immediately, and the fact that the bright purple surrounding you didn't hurt your eyes in the slightest. That wasn't something that happened to you. Even having your eyes open should hurt. 

But for whatever reason, they didn't.

"H-H-Hey, do you g-guys know wh-e-e-ere the hell I just w-woke up?" When you speak, the noises come out in a way you can only describe as 'splintered.' The words jumped around, repeating almost like a broken record, and you're pretty sure if you listened closely that some act of god was making each syllable sound like static. Whoever was talking apparently got the message, because suddenly you were falling, and the impact with the concrete had done a very good job of making your lungs void of air. You roll over onto your side, wheezing for air, and one of the fun things that you notice is , hey, this motherfucker is tall, because even from your curled up position on the ground you can tell that he must have at least a foot on you. He does, apparently, also have a foot on you, because even as out of it as you are you can tell when someone presses the sole of their sneaker to _your face._

"Shut up, alien."

Wait a goddamn second, was that-

"E-E-Eridan?"

The sneaker is off your face, which is what you would count as a victory, if you weren't getting grabbed by the front of your shirt and dragged from the ground to a dangling position. Your feet are a solid foot (heh) off the ground, and everything still feels kinda numb and static like. The- The Eridan? The Eridan holding you looks exactly like your Eridan. Well, save for a few things.

Like the fact that he had grey skin, yellow sclera, and horns. That was not something you saw every day. Apparently he recognized the recognition in your eyes, because his upper lip peels back in a scowl and holy shit, those are teeth that could take a chunk out of your fragile, human neck. What the actual fuck is going on?

"Wwho the fuck are you?"

That stung more than you thought it would. You hope that this is just a fucked up way of your subconscious fucking with you, but you're pretty sure that in most of your dreams you can't feel cold (cold?) breath on your face and the way that the fabric holding you up is chafing your neck. In any case, the fact that Eridan - this thing, person, with his face, didn't know who you were actually hurt.

"I s-s-should be ask-k-king you the same thing-g-g." You chirp at the end, a sound that's distinctly digital, and the anger on his face deepens and he looks very close to ripping you to shreds. Opening his mouth to respond, and you can almost see the way the light glints off those fangs, he gets interrupted by a voice just as familiar to you, but still alien in it's own way. God damn, is there a weird alien version of you somewhere too?

"Fii2hface, let me take a look at them. IIt 2ounds broken, and ii don't want 2omeone liike you ruiining it more." Sollux sounds bored, but also mildly intrested, in a way. Hopefully Eridan will put you down so Sollux can look at you, and you can explain all of this nice and easy-

"O-O-OH JE-S-SUS FUCKIN-G C-C-CHRIST-" 

He threw you. He threw you like you weighed nothing more than a goddamn book and you feel your heart racing so fast and suddenly everything's fading away and glitching out. All the purple around you is breaking into pixelated chunks and you can hear a faint yell or scolding but you can't really tell because-

Well, there's this dude just standing. He's uh, orange, and he's looking at you weirdly and you are very, very concerned. 

"What the f-f-fuck?"

"Shoosh." He says, and suddenly he is gone. 

Huh.

You open your eyes to the Sollux that you know, and the Eridan that you know, and your side is back so that's cool but also-

Eridan's dad is mother. Fucking. Massive.

You can see what he was worried about.


	15. Dadscar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kinda scary dude.

This is not the first time you've seen one of your friends parents, and it is most likely not going to be the last, but Eridan's father was possibly the most frightening person that you could have as a guardian. A rough estimation in your head sets the broad shouldered man at around 6'5, and the ragged twin scars running down his face and across one of his eyes ramps up your natural fight or flight instinct to 20. You almost physically recoil into the soft couch you have been draped across, and a quick glance at Sollux makes you realize that he is also trying hard to overcome his natural instinct to run. Mr.Ampora is a predator, and everything in your instincts is telling you to get away from this man as soon as possible.

"Eridan, why was your friend passed out on the couch in the living room?"

He sounded _shockingly_ like Cronus. You almost did a double take. If you gave the greaser a few extra years, and a metric ton of training or weightlifting or whatever he did to get so ripped, they would look almost exactly the same. It made some sort of sense to you, but you didn't know why. It was like when you know the answer to something but just can't put it into words. The feeling was very unsettling. You opened your mouth to answer what he had asked, but Eridan beat you to the punch.

"They wwere attacked a wwhile ago. It ain't their fault. I shoulda kept a better eye on them, cause i kneww this coulda happened. Sorry, sir."

You glanced over to Sollux quickly, and when your gaze matched you could see that he was thinking the same thing as you were. What type of family was this? Eridan and Cronus seemed almost afraid, and their usual personalities were gone. They looked almost like soldiers now, and you could see it in the way they stood. They weren't just putting up a front. You knew with an unatural certainty that they were dangerous. They had always been dangerous. How did you miss it? What clicked in your head for you to see your friends as... that?

A familiar elbow prods into you side, and you scoot your legs up on the couch so that Sollux can sit down beside you. The Ampora family is still talking, but the conversation has veered from being about you to accepting responsibility and being ready for anything. You were already zoned out, and if you were being honest with yourself, avoiding interaction with Mr.Ampora was a plus. You glance over to your friend, and the hacker just stares, slack jawed. You're about to ask why when he whips out his phone and takes a picture of you.

"Hey!" 

He just looks at you weirdly, before turning the phone around and showing you the screen. It takes you a second to realize, but when you do, it hits you like a train. 

Your eyes are a bright, blazing violet. The exact shade of violet streaking both Eridan and the troll version of Eridan's hair. You are a bit too focused on the fact that you don't need sunglasses to see anymore and that your eyes are purple to realize that you could put a name to the creatures in your dreams, but the thought doesn't escape your subconscious. You are just a bit more preoccupied with the fact that something that has plagued you your entire life has just disappeared, but the fact that your mind is making connections in ways you don't know is also just a tiny bit worrying. You turn to look at Eridan, and it seems that the conversation with his family has come to an end. Eridan's farther is stalking off to his office, and Cronus is taking the trip back to his room. In just a moment, it is only the three of you left in the living area, and Eridan seems to notice what happened to your eyes a lot faster than you did.

"Y/n, wwhat in the blazin fuck is goin on wwith you?"

"Eridan, Sollux, I will explain everything, and probably sound insane while doing so, but first I really, really need to get out of this house."

* * *

With how late it was -you had been out of it longer than you thought- the only thing that seemed to be open and within walking distance was a McDonald's. So, that was where the three of you were. Sitting in a booth, harsh fluorescent lights shining down on you, and picking at some 1.79 fries. Sadly, you weren't so hungry. The pressure in your chest was gnawing at your heart, and you felt physically sick.

"Alright, I... I haven't been telling the whole truth, and I'm sorry. I think it was because I was trying to protect you, but it was mostly just out of some stupid idea of making this my burden. Please, don't ask questions until I'm done speaking, and if either of you want to leave when I'm done speaking, I'm not going to stop you." You had to be careful as you spoke, because you knew if you weren't, the weight of the words you were speaking would crash down and you would run. You had to stay detached from this. The gross pressure had increased into acid, and you felt tears trying to claw their way out of your eyes and vomit splashing at the back of your bruised throat.

So you told them. You let the story of it flow from you with reckless abandon, everything you had seen, everything you had known, and everything that you had discovered. People came and went as you spoke, and the staff shot occasional odd glances towards the three of you, but you rambled on. By the time you were finished speaking, your fries were cold, the sky was dark, and Sollux and Eridan looked remorseful. 

Without a word, the pair stood up and left.

Your name is y/n, and you are sitting alone at a McDonalds and crying silently over a carton of cold, limp, sad fries. You are alone again, and it is no-one's fault but your own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I am so, so sorry for the two month break in updates. When summer hit, my motivation level fell to a solid -22, and you suffered for it. I'm gonna try and keep updates coming again, but with my current mental health, they might be a bit more spaced out that before. Sorry, guys.


	16. Slight Miscalculation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, fuck.

After having your little one man pity party in the corner booth of the McDonald's, you figured that you should probably get your angsty teen ass out of their restaurant before one of the staff would have to ask if you were ok. You did want to talk to someone, but there was no way in hell that you would endure the awkwardness of dumping that emotional trashpile onto a cashier and then never being able to return to this location ever again. Really, you were considering never showing your face in this Micky D's after this, there's no way you'd be able to come back after that. 

You only realize after stepping into the cool, almost freezing, night air that you don't have a ride home and where you are is hella far from where you live. You go to call your shitty guardian, but you find that your phone is dead. Oh, well. They probably wouldn't pick up even if you did call. This leaves you walking home at almost midnight with nothing but a thin fall jacket to cover your freezing hide. You'd congratulate yourself for having wonderful planning skills and wearing a tiny jacket during winter, but you weren't really planning to walk home in the first place, so you can seem to find it in yourself to forgive the transgression. The cold is really easy to ignore though, considering how straight up numb you're feeling. You're having trouble even registering in your mind that Sollux and Eridan would do that. Are they telling everyone else about it while you walk home? What was even so bad about what you said that they'd abandon you? The sinking sadness in your gut is slowly turning into a cold, hard resentment. How dare they? Not even a word about why they would just up and fucking _leave_ , and they think that it would just be ok? 

You're about halfway home, and by that point, the pit of resentment has turned into a full blown burning rage. Bright cherry red and angry at the world, you know that if it was possible the ground beneath every footstep you take would be charred and blackened. Your fire isn't even directed at your two best friends anymore, it just seems to be there. Angry at the world for being the way it is, angry at people for not doing anything to make it better. In the back of your mind you question where it comes from, but the thought is washed away by blood and heat and never ending malice. You don't even notice the car pulling up behind you until a sharp, shiny black oxford shoe clicks on the frost covered pavement behind you. 

"Hey, kid, didn't you say you wouldn't tell anyone about us? C'mon, you made yourself a liar-" It sounds like he wants to keep speaking, but you already know who it is, and you whip around so fast to look at him you know you heard something snap. Although, you really didn't expect the suit-clad man to take a step back. Really, what type of murder is scared of a fucking highschooler? 

"Hey, asshole." Again, a thought resting just beyond your current area of thinking is saying that you sound oddly and eerily like Karkat. "Come back to finish me off? So scared that the word of a traumatized child is gonna fuck you up?" You take another step forward, and for whatever reason, he takes _another step back._

If you were to assign a color to your current line of thinking, for any particular reason, it would be red. It would be a bright, blazing, cherry red.

Blood red.

You feel white hot, the pounding of blood in your head blurring out rational thought and reasoning, and to be completely honest, you just really, really want to break this pretentious murder dickhead's nose. You, sadly, do not get the chance to do so, because someone much larger than you is wrapping their thick muscled arms around your waist and lifting. Even if you can't channel your newfound power into fucking up the dude in front of you, you think you might be able to use it on the dude behind you. You launch your leg forward with as much strength as you can muster, and using gravity and the natural movement of your leg, you drive your heel directly into the crotch of the person holding you.

_Bullseye, motherfucker._

You thank every god you can think of that he falls onto his back, and the force of you and the fall makes his arms fall slack enough for you to slip out. Although you still want to fight these guys, you know you are severely outnumbered. So, when you can't fight? Flight is always the next best option. You run.

As stated before, your dark vision is balls to the wall excellent, and even through the haze of adrenaline you can tell that some otherworldly force is boosting that shit to the highest level, because as you run, the street is clear as day. The voices behind you are blurring into one aggravated noise, but you don't let that slow you down at all. You have, what, maybe thirty seconds at the most before they can all get back into the car and chase after you. There is an alleyway very, very close by. You just gotta make it to that and you'll be fine-

Oh. That was definitely a gunshot. You don't think that it hit you, because you can't feel shit right now, but that theory is disproved when you hit the ground like a sack of potatoes with a hole in your leg. Awesome. This is just a great night. You are most definitely having the time of your fucking life. 

"Nice try, kid." Click, click, click, the man's shoes make a distinctive sound on the pavement. The hand that threads itself into your hair is anything but gentle, and the way he pulls your face off the ground to look into your eye is even less so. "Y'know that you're gonna pay for that move, right? Shoulda thought about that before telling those two. Well, you ain't gonna make that mistake again. You won't really be able to, anyway." 

His chuckle is like knives sliding against each other. Grating and dangerous. 

"We'll talk more when you're in a bit of a... better condition?" He smiles. Pointed teeth like his can't be natural, and you know it. "Later. Nighty night, kiddo."

Then he rears your head back and slams it into the pavement.

**Author's Note:**

> The reader has photophobia, paired with ocular albinism. Meaning grey eyes and light sensitivity. This messes stuff up a bit, but it's also a story point. I hope you like it!


End file.
